Four days passed unnoticed. Ioanna and Thomas gathered all the available material and edited it in one of the break rooms. They started two days ago, and now their work was nearing completion. The next day, they only had one interview left with the Archon, but all the other material was already prepared. There had been no news from John yet. Martha Crockford had promised that he would return yesterday, but he was still in the Third District. Why? With every passing minute, the likelihood of his survival diminished.
"Everything's ready," Thomas snapped his fingers, still smiling.
"How about you?"
"Almost done," Ioanna nodded, looking at the screen. She swiped her hand across the screen a few times, and her part of the video was ready.
"Well, that's it!" the young man exclaimed, raising his palm up.
"Correct," Ioanna replied, slapping his palm. "Well then," the girl turned off the tablet, "thank you for your cooperation."
"And you," Thomas snapped his fingers again. "What are you doing today?"
"I only have a few minor tasks," Ioanna answered, curling her fingers. After all, Doctor Abraham was waiting for her in his office in an hour. "Then I'll be back."
he stood up from the chair and looked out the window. As always, it was a sunny day in the capital.
"Come back," said Thomas, always full of positivity. She could use his optimism.
Ioanna took the tablet and headed for the elevator. Richard Robinson was just exiting the cabin, and Ioanna greeted him with a friendly nod.
"Good afternoon," said the man. "How's work?"
"The film is almost finished," Ioanna replied. "How about you?"
"As always," Richard smirked. "Work and more work."
"Is there really that much work here in the Capitol?" The girl folded the tablet into her bag. "I thought you'd be back at the complex."
"Martha can manage without me," Richard waved his hand. "As I said before, after the project, we'll be extracting energy from Primordial Space. We need to discuss this with the Сhairmen, as it will require project upgrades."
"Ah, higher goals, more resources," Ioanna nodded in understanding. Did he know about the reason of the false alarm that Martha staged a few days ago? And that all the Wanderers were in a place that no longer appeared on the maps?
"Exactly," the man held the elevator door open as it tried to close.
"Thank you," Ioanna entered the cabin and pressed the floor button.
The calmness and confidence in his eyes spoke of total ignorance: The Fracture Project was nearing closure with every passing minute. Either he was hiding this well to prevent the girl from disrupting the launch plans.
In any case, Ioanna entered her room, dropped off the tablet, changed clothes, and headed back to the elevator. The corridor was empty. Everyone was in the Capitol. Passing by Thomas's room, she noticed his pass lying at the door.
"Seems he dropped it," crossed her mind. The girl picked up the metal card, deciding that the best idea would be to leave it at the reception. The elevator quickly ascended and then descended just as quickly. The girl at the reception was standing at the desk, staring at the doors as if someone was about to enter at any moment. But seeing Ioanna, she smiled and greeted her.
"Hello," the girl approached the control screen. "How can I help?"
"My colleague," Ioanna took out the card and handed it to the girl at the desk. "He dropped his pass." At that moment, the lights flickered, the control system shut down, and then lit up again. The hotel logo shone once more. "This isn't the first time, is it?"
"Oh, similar things have been happening in the last few days," the girl took the card and held it up to the scanner. "Our technicians say it's due to outages."
"Energy isn't distributed evenly?"
"Yeah, but our hotel is connected to the Capitol's energy system, and the Capitol has reduced most of its consumption to let their energy flow into the Reservoir. Sometimes failures occur." A blue loading circle appeared on the screen. The scan was coming to an end. The circle lit up, and the scanning was complete. "Elias Green, I'll pass it on to him." The girl smiled as well.
"What? No, that's a mistake. His name is Thomas Morph."
"Is this his photo?" the girl waved her hand in the air, and the screen displayed an image of the always cheerful guy watching Ioanna.
"Yes, but the name is incorrect," Ioanna scanned the screen with her eyes.
"Hold on a second," she scanned the card again. "Maybe due to the glitch, the protocols are malfunctioning and displaying the wrong name."
The circle shone once more.
"Is everything alright?" the girl tried to peek at the screen from behind the desk.
"Yes, Thomas Morph," the girl nodded. "I'll call the technicians to have them calibrate the system."
"Okay," Ioanna replied. "Alright, I need to run." She nodded.
"Come back," the hotel staff continued to smile.
Ioanna left the hotel and quickly headed to the metro station. "This is strange," she whispered. Truly strange. Just a few days ago, Archon Vasily Yakimov spoke about a controlled collapse and the Fracture Compound as a measure that could save the Consolidated Nation. And now there were glitches in the hotel's energy system. And especially in the Capitol. Was nothing calculated on their part? These thoughts tormented Ioanna as she stepped into the carriage of the arriving train. The clamps disengaged, and the train sped through the air. Surprisingly, there were no followers of the Last Ones on the streets. Apparently, they realized that the machine was safe. There could be no repeat of the incident.
The train stopped at the station, and through the windows, Ioanna saw the clinic of the Department of Population Control across the street. She entered through the main entrance. As always, a queue of men and women stood waiting to be called. Although the line was long, there were more doctors in the control department. A few minutes later, Ioanna approached the desk.
"Doctor Abraham is waiting, room 418."
Ioanna knew the way. With each step, the voice in her head grew louder. Vasily Yakimov's words calmed her, work distracted her. But now she was about to learn her future. What awaited her? Would she become a mother? Would she have a family, or would her future end in room 418?
"Come in," Doctor Abraham replied to the knock.
The door slid open, and the girl stepped into his territory.
"Mrs. Averino," the doctor stood up. "Please go into the next room." The man placed his hand on the panel, and the door opened. In the next room stood a capsule. A diagnostic capsule that all citizens wishing to continue their lineage undergo.
"Will this take long?" Ioanna approached the capsule.
"No, the last time you had a full diagnostic," the man adjusted his glasses. "This time it will be an express test."
"Understood," the girl took her place, and the glass panel descended from above.
"Don't worry," Doctor Abraham activated the mechanism.
Hundreds of blue lights descended from the ceiling, focusing their gaze on the girl's body. Light. They swirled around her, scanning, coming closer and then retreating. The dance of the blue lights continued for several minutes. Ioanna herself didn't know if she wanted it to end so she could hear the answer, or if she preferred to continue living in ignorance. But her desires didn't matter at that moment, in that room.
A sound signal interrupted the process, and the lights extinguished, rising back up their cables. The glass lifted, and the girl watched the doctor, who was staring intently at the screen. Then he took a few steps towards her. His heavy gaze suggested bad news or the way he delivered any information to his patients.
"You are fertile, Mrs. Averino," Dr. Abraham said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "The virus has entered a passive state."
"Ah," Ioanna exhaled deeply. A smile appeared on her face as quickly as the lights had scanned her moments ago. "That means..."
"It won't be me, since you don't live in the capital. But at the first signs of pregnancy, the Population Control Department will be waiting for you in Revel," his brows were tense, as before.
"Ah, thank you," the girl got up and left the capsule. "But..."
"What 'but'?" the man turned off the system.
"Your gaze... it..."
"Is heavy?" he smirked inwardly. "I've lived a long life administering stabilizers to every woman and man who comes here. Your case is special. Yet you are just as much a patient as the others. Even if my face shows nothing and my gaze is silent, it doesn't mean I'm not happy for you. I am happy," the man gestured towards the exit. "I just see that happiness on people's faces every day, and it has become normal for me."
"I understand," the girl entered his office.
"Live," Abraham continued, "create new life. Build bridges to the future that your child will bring to all of us. You are free."
Ioanna thanked Dr. Abraham and left his office. Happiness. Happiness filled her. An explosion of endorphins surged through her body, and the smile that never left her face reflected her joy. The future had begun. The life she had feared losing had become more precious. Brighter. And now the child that would come into this world in just over nine months had received a ticket to this realm — a world that was drawing closer to its end each hour.
Happy, like all patients leaving the Population Control Department, Ioanna headed back to the hotel when the phone rang. Touching the contact device, the girl saw the name. The surname she had seen a few days ago and uttered several times during phone calls.
"Yes, Mr. Volkov," Ioanna said, putting in her headphones.
"Ioanna, what's going on? How's the work?" His voice was more serious than usual.
"Um..." the girl hesitated. "Good, we've finished the main film; we just need to add a few fragments, but that will be the day before the launch."
"That's exactly what I've been waiting for these last few days."
"And what's the problem?" Ioanna was climbing the stairs of the subway station.
"Why hasn't anyone sent reports? Neither you nor Thomas." His voice showed he was breathing heavily. "Our two best workers in the capital without any calls. Silence. I've been waiting for these days, but..."
"Wait, Thomas and I agreed he would send the report."
"Ah..." Mr. Volkov exhaled. "You haven't worked with him before, have you?"
"No, why?"
"He's the best at what he does, but paperwork, reports... it's impossible to get him to send anything on time."
"Got it. As soon as I get back to the hotel, I'll tell him or send it myself."
"Better you send it," was the last thing Ioanna heard before her interlocutor hung up.
And the reports too... the girl muttered as she boarded the train that would take her back to the hotel.
But the reports weren't that important. When the world changes and is reborn, everything becomes irrelevant. Her world had just returned to life. It had changed. Now her child would begin its life. Her family, as always in her dreams, would be whole. Her child would live and enjoy life, just like its parents.
But, unfortunately, there's a fly in the ointment. Jonathan Brooks would never be there for his nephew. He would never play with him, never be family. Yet the pride for the uncle who travels between worlds would always reside in the heart of the new child.
"Ioanna, hello," Marcus Gray greeted her in the lobby. "You're just glowing! I take it the problem is resolved?"
"Yes," Ioanna replied. "Everything is as it should be."
"Great!" Marcus nodded and headed for the hotel exit.
The conversation wasn't substantial: just a few phrases and words that held no weight. Ioanna's heart raced in her chest, eager to burst out and scream to the world that the fear was gone, that the worries were no more. The most significant event in the girl's life had finally happened.
She ascended to her room and called her husband, sharing the entire story. Though at first he was upset that she hadn't shared the truth with him, accepting and understanding her decision became his task. He managed it. Their conversation lasted about an hour. They discussed which school to send the child to and in which city it should live. Maybe in Arcana, near the Fracture Compound? Or in Revel? What if it was in the capital? So many ideas and thoughts.
Just a little more. Just a bit. John would return from the Third District, Martha would start the Machine, and the world for Ioanna, like for everyone else, would transform. The future that had seemed distant would open its doors to the Consolidated Nation and all its residents. Eden built on the ruins of hell would confirm its status as Heaven.
There was almost nothing left. Just a little more, and Eden would disappear.